116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Campaign Almanac: Early voting starts Wednesday in Iowa
Also, new ads are airing in Eastern Iowa’s competitive 1st District campaign
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Iowans can vote in the presidential election starting Wednesday.
Oct. 16 is the first day for early voting in Iowa ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Iowans can vote in-person at the county auditor’s office.
Wednesday also is the day that local elections officials can begin mailing absentee ballots to Iowa voters who requested one. Iowans have until Monday to request an absentee ballot by mail.
All completed absentee ballots must be received by a county auditor’s office by Election Day on Nov. 5. By state law, any ballots received after Election Day will not be counted, regardless of when they were postmarked.
Iowa saw record turnout in the most recent presidential election, in 2020, when over 1.7 million votes were cast in the state. More than 1 million absentee ballots — 59 percent of all ballots cast — were submitted, which was another state record.
Absentee voting surged in 2020 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information on how to vote or the 2024 candidates, visit The Gazette’s Voter Guide at thegazette.com/voterguide, or the Iowa Secretary of State’s voterready.iowa.gov.
League of Women Voters encourages voting
The League of Women Voters of Iowa is launching a statewide get-out-the-vote campaign to encourage participation in the 2024 presidential election.
The organization plans to conduct an information campaign — with a focus on younger voters — that will include informing Iowans about key deadlines and ways to vote. The program also will provide voters with rides to the polls, the organization says.
“This election is crucial, and we want to ensure that every Iowan has the information and motivation they need to cast their vote,” League of Women Voters of Iowa Co-President Terese Grant said in a statement. “By simplifying voting information and targeting first-time voters, especially those between 18 and 34 years old, we hope to see a strong voter turnout.”
The organization has more voting information on its website, lwvia.org.
National Dems’ ad targets Miller-Meeks
The House Majority PAC, the campaign arm of U.S. House Democrats, announced a new series of campaign ads across 15 congressional districts in 10 states, including Eastern Iowa’s 1st District.
The national Democrats’ latest ad targets Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. The ad criticizes her votes on legislation dealing with Medicare, insulin prices and the retirement age.
Miller-Meeks is running for a third, two-year term and, for a second consecutive cycle, faces Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan.
Iowa’s 1st Congressional District is considered by national forecasters among the most competitive in the nation; multiple forecasters recently have moved the campaign to toss-up status.
National GOP ad targets Bohannan
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the political arm of U.S. House Republicans, announced four new campaign ads in three races, including Eastern Iowa’s 1st District.
The national Republicans’ latest ad targets Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan for her alleged “ties to defund-the-police groups,” according to a news release.
Bohannan for a second consecutive cycle is running to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Environmental group endorses Bohannan
Friends of the Earth Action, which advocates for environment-friendly policies, has endorsed Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan in Eastern Iowa’s 1st Congressional District election.
Bohannan is running against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in a rematch of their 2022 campaign.
“Friends of the Earth Action believes each candidate we’ve endorsed will fight corporate polluters and put the interests of the people and our planet first,” said a statement by Ariel E. Moger, government and political affairs director at Friends of the Earth Action.
Hinson pitches bipartisanship
A new campaign ad from Republican incumbent Ashley Hinson portrays the second-term congresswoman as willing to work on bipartisan issues.
The ad features Iowans who say they support Hinson because of her “bipartisan record of results,” the Hinson campaign said in a news release.
Hinson is running for a third, two-year term in Eastern Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Also running are Democrat Sarah Corkery and independent candidate Jody Puffett.
Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
Get the latest Iowa politics and government coverage each morning in the On Iowa Politics newsletter.
Daily Newsletters